he who watches he who stays
by tinyphrases
Summary: He's strong, safe. She feels safe. She didn't realize how much she needed that in the past years. One-shot ficlet.


Mini New Years fic for Josi. Or well, post. I found a rough draft in my Werdsmith app and edited it. (I recommend that app. Super handy) Disclaimer? I bumped into a guy who looked like Andrew Marlowe. Doubt it.

* * *

Silent moments are probably her favorites. She's lead a loud life in a loud city, but once she manages to block out the noise, it's a beautiful thing.

The New Year's Eve party he hosted has long since ended and they're curled up in his bed, him sleeping and her switching her eyes between his peaceful face and the grey light shining inside. It's raining a little, has been all night, but it didn't ruin the night. In fact, the party had been buzzing and beaming and alive.

She sighs, presses her cheek to his bicep and revels in the feel of the muscle against her skin. He's strong, safe. She feels safe. She didn't realize how much she needed that in the past years.

Kate isn't one for resolutions. Her head had been clouded by unconscious - or well, partly unconscious - goals for the biggest part of her adult life. But it's different now. She has things to look forward to. Things she allows herself to want.

And Castle - yeah, well - she wants him. He knows she does. It's enough for both of them. And being able to purely want someone in every aspect of your life is beautiful. Especially if you have that person with you. In every aspect.

(Of your life together.)

She bites her lip and settles back onto her pillow. Sleep didn't consume her for long - she's too jittery. Because this entire year, they'll spend together. And she can't get her head around it, around him. Them together.

It's beautiful. A mutual, wordless understanding that this is it and they're it.

She pushes herself up to sit against the headboard and reaches for the notepad he keeps on her side of the bed. (She almost thinks their bed and it makes her smile widely.) His argument was that sometimes they fall asleep on other sides and he wants access to writing equipment without waking her by accident.

It's empty, but she knows he has written in it and ripped the pages out. Something about spoilers. She had rolled her eyes at him.

Uncapping the pen she finds, she bites the end of it and looks at the blank page, before lowering it onto the paper and starting to doodle. She writes a lot, writes paperwork, but that's why she's not using words now. She's using scribbles. Meaningless lines that may tell the story for her because she doesn't know how to put them into words. He's the writer; he knows. And the perks of dating one is over thinking things. She can't help but want to capture this moment.

This, the first of January of a new year, somewhere nearing noon after they cleaned up after their guests. He's sleeping; she's awake watching him. The gentle light is caressing his jaw, making it more prominent, and the sound of raindrops against the windows is making her feel drowsy and keeping him asleep. It's beautiful. She loves the silence.

Her pen stops, and she watches the curls and hearts she has drawn, bites down on her lower lip. That's sappy. He makes her - makes her show the romantic side she tried to hide. She was always a sceptic, but also a one and done type. And that's what makes her believe him. That he loves her. Because he makes her not want to hide it. Because she doesn't have one foot out the door. Because she loves him.

That gives her an idea.

She flips a page in the notebook and writes down four words.

'Be with Richard Castle.'

Setting the notebook aside, she leans down to kiss his nape while running her fingers through his hair. He stirs, mutters something like 'Let me sleep' but she tugs on the shell of his ear with her teeth instead.

When they're done, an hour or so after that, he presses a kiss to her mouth, dragging his across hers, sighing contently. She curls into his chest and hides her face, hides the wide smile for just a while longer. He really doesn't need the ego boost.

She answers his unspoken question anyway. "I wanted to show you what our year will be like."


End file.
